


The Many Parents of Edward Elric

by Pirate_Jenna



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: (expect I do and those are them), Found Family, Gen, Parental Everyone, Parents, ed has so many parents, every adult character is either a parental figure or an aunt/uncle/older sibling, he just gets adopted by basically everyone, sorry I don't make the rules - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2020-03-26 10:34:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19004008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pirate_Jenna/pseuds/Pirate_Jenna
Summary: In his own words, Edward Elric has no family except his brother.This is not entirely true.An exploration of the many people throughout the brothers' lives who take up the role as a parental figure.





	1. Granny

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so I’ve finally decided to write some FMA fic, and I figured why not indulge my favorite trope/topic. This is gonna be a series of short pieces about the different people throughout Ed’s life who have filled some kind of parental role for him. And I figured, why not start with one of the first, and someone I think we don’t give enough credit to, his adoptive grandmother. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!
> 
> This first chapter is set shortly after the human transmutation.

It’s the middle of the night when Pinako’s woken up. She lays in the bed for a minute, listening. There isn’t anything, just the regular sounds of the night. She stays there just a second before dragging herself from the bed with a sigh. She’s had enough experience to know that she’s awake for a reason.

Her first stop is Winry’s room. The girl has spent the last several nights working on the plans for Ed’s arm. He’s so set on making a fast recovery. While normally Pinako would have the patient take a few weeks to get used to the ports and allow them to heal before putting pressure on them, she has a feeling Ed will be demanding the limbs by the end of the week.

Poking her head in, she’s glad to see Winry asleep in her bed. She takes just a moment to look over the work on her desk. She’s impressed. Winry has shown great aptitude in automail--it's why she’d given her the task of crafting the arm--but still, this is some of the finest work she’s ever seen. But now’s not the time. Something has her awake, and it’s not Winry.

She heads downstairs. Glancing through the front windows, she can see the helmet from Al’s suit of armor. He’s taken to spending nights outside on the porch. It’s so hard to tell how he’s handling things. Before she can decide whether to check on him, she hears a sound.

Ah, that’s what it was.

She heads over the patient room. The door is open a crack, and she pauses a moment to look through. The moonlight just barely casts light into the room. Something about the shadows and the bed--the bed that normally holds grown adults--makes him seem so much smaller.

She stays in the doorway another moment, listening. She’d thought he might be crying, but he doesn’t even appear to be awake.

She slips through the door and over to the bed. Ed’s eyes are scrunched up, his jaw clenched. He doesn’t seem to be having a nightmare--a reasonable possibility--but he certainly isn’t sleeping well. He shifts restlessly, wincing as he does. She glances out the window. It’s hard to see, but she thinks those may be storm clouds rolling in. They haven’t had a good storm since… since that night.

Pinako gathers up some rags and heats some water on the stove. There’s little she can do, especially while he’s asleep, but this will be better than nothing. She pulls a stool over to the bed--it feels so wrong, having him in this bed, giving him the care she normally gives to strangers--and lays the damp rags across his ports. The stubborn boy insisted on having them installed as soon as possible; his wounds hadn’t even completely healed. 

He flinches as she wraps the clothes around his shoulder and leg. She lays another cloth, this one cool, across his forehead. It’s only been a few days since the installation; it wouldn’t surprise her if he’s getting a fever. She smiles as his face relaxes a bit. Hopefully, he’ll get some sleep tonight. He’s in for a rough day tomorrow, assuming the storm does roll in. And whatever he says, she knows he hasn’t been sleeping well. Between him, Winry, and Al…

She shakes her head, brushing Ed’s bangs out of his face as she flips the rag over. He’s so young, too young for this, and yet she can’t help but remember those two little boys sitting at their kitchen table after the funeral. They’ve both grown so much, and not just physically. She still remembers when Al could hardly hold himself together if something was bothering him, and here he is now, going through who knows what and willing to put it aside to try and help Ed with his recovery.

And Ed… 

The look on his face when he’d declared his intent to join the military. The fire in his eyes. The determination to follow through no matter what anyone said. There are plenty of times when she’s struck by how much Ed looks like his father, more so as he gets older, but that…

That had been all Trisha.

Pinako is surprised to realize the room has become brighter. Either it was earlier than she thought, or she’s been sitting here longer than she realized. Oh well, everyone else has been going without sleep; she can stand to go without a bit herself. 

She smiles as she looks down at this boy who has been as good as her own for the last several years. She honestly doubts that he’ll remember to do his maintenance the way he should. And knowing Edward, he won’t take care of himself much better.

Well, he may think he’s grown up enough to join the military--and Pinako is more than willing to debate that--but he’s not so grown up that he can’t use someone looking after him. And for now, she’s happy enough to do that herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! The relationship between Pinako and both the boys is one of my favorites, but especially with Ed. The easy why he calls her Granny is just so precious. She deserves more love for looking after those two.  
> I've got the next chapter written, just need to edit it, so keep an eye out for that later this week.  
> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! Which parental fma relationship is your favorite?


	2. Sig

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been two weeks since the Promised Day. Recovery is a slow process, and not just the physical recovery.
> 
> Sig offers some wisdom to Ed as he struggles to learn the same lesson Sig has already been through.

Two weeks. He’s honestly surprised they're here at all. The fact that Izumi had stayed for two _days_ in the hospital following the Promised Day, allowing tests to be run and treatments to be given, was surprising enough. Not that she hadn’t protested somewhat. And as much as he had been worried about her, he was willing to admit she had a fair point that other people had needed treatment more than she did. It was much the same argument Edward had made, though it was clear that his arm needed more attention than he was letting on. Sig had a suspicion that that had played a part in Izumi’s willingness to stay in the hospital for so long.

The kid’s surgery had been slotted in only a day after as the doctors were worried about potential infection if they let the metal pieces stay in his shoulder for much longer. Getting Izumi to come back to Central for a checkup was hard enough, but that day with Edward…

Speaking of which.

Sig looks up from the newspaper he’d been glancing over. He hasn’t really been reading it, but he needed something to occupy himself while Izumi is getting her checkup. Any attempts at reading however are interrupted at the shouting echoing down the hall.

“Sir, we need you to calm down-”

“I AM CALM!! YOU PEOPLE ARE THE ONES WHO NEED TO CALM DOWN!!”

Sig lets out a soft sigh, though as he sets aside the paper and walks down the hall, he feels more a sense of fondness than annoyance.

Despite several doors being open now, their occupants peering out cautiously at the commotion, caution that would indicate a familiarity with this sort of outburst, Sig has no trouble locating the room. It appears the boys haven’t been moved.

“WHAT KIND OF HOSPITAL IS THIS?!?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET HIM KILLED?!?!”

“Brother!”

“Sir really, I must-”

The shouting comes to an abrupt halt as Sig steps into the doorway. He first looks over to the bed, feeling a bit of relief in his chest as he looks over Alphonse. The boy is sitting up, something that had been very taxing on him those first few days. Though he still looks sickly thin and pale, there is a bit more softness to his checks. His hair is still long and scraggly, though it’s combed and pulled back. And while he does smile at Sig, the annoyance is clear on his face, which Sig takes as a good sign. It takes a lot of energy to argue with Edward. If Alphonse is feeling up to that, it shows he’s feeling better.

At that, he looks over to Edward. His mouth is open, clearly ready to continue his tirade, his right fist raised dramatically in the air. He needs to head this off quickly.

“Sir, you can’t-” the nurse, apparently recovered from a strange man barging into the room, attempts to protest.

Ignoring her, Sig enters the room, grabs Edward around the middle, easily tucking him under his arm as he turns to leave, and gives a curt nod to the nurse as he does.

“Hey!” Edward struggles, but extra height or not, the kid is still easy to carry.

“We’ll be back,” Sig says firmly, directing the statement more at Edward than the other occupants.

“Uh- I- wait, sir!”

Sig shuts the door gently behind him and turns down the hallway. He seems to remember a door to the roof at the end of this floor.

Edward, reasonably accepting of his fate, mutters to himself as they go along.

Once they’re on the roof, Sig sets Edward down, taking a moment to really look him over. His right arm, while still clearly smaller than his other, looks better than it had. It isn’t quite as pale and seems to be gaining muscle. The kid’s probably taking every opportunity he has to work out. The bandages around his shoulder are gone, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s completely healed from the surgery. He’s as bad as Izumi at taking the necessary time to recover.

After a moment of Edward rubbing his shoulder, looking around at anything other than Sig and not saying anything, Sig crosses his arms and gives him a look. “Are you going to explain that?”

Edward lets out a huff and crosses his own arms, “I don’t have to explain it.”

Sig stands still a moment, staring back at Edward. It’s almost imperceptible, but he sees the boy’s resolve start to crack. He walks past Edward over to the wall surrounding the roof and sits down.

Edward’s shoulders droop as he follows Sig over and plops down beside him. He waits a moment, knowing the kid won’t be able to keep quiet for long.

“They want Al to start walking.”

Sig nods.

“They want him to start _tomorrow_.”

He nods again.

“But they’re making _me_ do testing tomorrow to make sure my arm is fine, _which it is_!”

Ah, there it is.

“You know, they won’t leave Al to do this on his own.”

“But what if something goes wrong?! He was in the portal for five years! And after just _two weeks_ they want him to start walking again?! He’s only just started eating solid foods, and they haven’t even taken him off the breathing tubes yet!”

Sig looks at Edward. It’s hard to tell if you don’t know him; he just seems angry. But Sig can see the genuine fear in his eyes.

He sets a hand on Edward’s shoulder, “Listen, I know you just want him safe, but you can’t spend your whole life hovering over him. Al is going to need his independence.”

“I know but-”

“Right after... when Izumi was in the hospital-” Edward freezes, mouth snapping shut- “I was so worried I would lose her. We had already lost so much. I didn’t think I could handle losing her too. The doctors tried, but there wasn’t much they could do for her.”

Sig takes a deep breath; he hates remembering those days, those nights, spent beside her bed, the fear of waking up to find her gone keeping him awake. “But as soon as they told us that, she insisted on coming home. She barely spent a week in bed before she was trying to work down in the shop again.”

He glances down at Edward. A small, slightly sad smile spreads across the boy’s face. Good, he’s calming down. “I wanted her to rest, to let me handle everything, but she wouldn’t let me. She needed to try and get back to how things were.

“Even now, I still worry about her.” He looks down, clenching his fist, “And then, that day, watching her be pulled away from me, not knowing where she was or if she was even alive…” He looks up at Edward again and gives his shoulder a small squeeze, “It felt like going through that again. I can hardly stand to let her out of my sight.”

Edward’s eyebrows lift, “But, she’s… I mean…”

Sig nods, “She can handle herself. I help her when I can, but I also trust her to take care of some things on her own.”

Edward lets his head drop, “I just... I don’t want to lose him again.”

Sig slides his hand over to Edward’s other shoulder and pulls him into a hug, “He doesn’t want to lose you either, but if he doesn’t get to experience things on his own, then what was this really worth?”

Edward nods as he buries his head in Sig’s chest, and Sig places his hand on the boy’s head. They sit there for a minute before Sig stands up, lifting Edward up to his feet as well.

Edward takes a deep breath, gives Sig a determined nod, and marches through the door.

Sig looks after the kid, feeling that soft fondness again. Learning to let Izumi go and trusting she would bring herself back home in one piece had been hard, especially this second time. But that hasn’t been the only time he’s had to learn to let someone go.

He remembers the first night after the boys came back, after they’d told them everything. He’d found Izumi sitting up in the garden late that night. They’d sat together, and he knew they were both thinking the same thing, wondering if they could have prevented this. If there was anything they could have done to stop them. What if something terrible happened again? If they’d already fallen into something that bad at such a young age, weren’t they likely to end up somewhere even worse?

Izumi had handled the letting them go part by forcing them out. While he knew it was important for the boys to know they wouldn’t be hovered over, they couldn’t very well come back if they didn’t understand it was an option. And sure enough, they’d come right back. Later, Edward had even called to ask for their help. And now, Edward was listening to him as he learned the same lesson.

Looking back on the little pipsqueak who had come to stay with them so many years ago, Sig feels proud to see how much Edward has grown, and he’s more than happy that he’s been allowed to play some small part in that growth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a doctor, so the time frame for Al's recovery and where he's at may not be accurate, but also we don't really know what exactly the consequences of him being in the Gate for five years would be so, we're going with this!  
> I love Sig, and he definitely doesn't get enough love. He's flipping fantastic and loves the Elric boys so much (he's also the only person Ed lets call him pipsqueak, at least in the dub), so hopefully you enjoyed seeing him here as much as I enjoyed writing him!  
> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.


	3. Teacher

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set pre-canon, shortly after the boys have started their training with Izumi.

Izumi pauses in the middle of sharpening the knife as the clock chimes. The boys have been gone awhile, and she’s starting to wonder if that’s a good thing. 

Originally, Izumi had sent the boys out for the day because the shop had started to get busy, and she hadn’t wanted them to be in the way. It’s taking some getting used to having the two of them around, and she and Sig still aren’t comfortable with them being in the back of the shop. They’ve only been staying with them--with them proper, not on the island--for a couple weeks, and it’s already become clear how easily they can get into trouble. Mason helps keep them busy when she isn’t able to, but with the stream of customers today she hadn’t wanted him distracted. She’s thinking now that training them to help in the shop might be a good idea. That way she can keep an eye on them.

Still, they’re old enough to handle themselves, and it’s not as if she needs them back for anything in particular. She finishes sharpening the first knife, halfway through the motion of throwing it before remembering that Sig is still cleaning up the front counter. She sets it to the side for now and picks up the next one.

Just as she begins to sharpen it, she hears the creak of the door hinges. She whips around, knife still in hand.

It’s Ed.

_ Just _ Ed.

Just Ed, with a split lip and what will soon be a black eye. He’s also absolutely covered in dirt.

Izumi crosses her arms, noticing as his eyes follow her hand… ah, the knife. She sets it on the counter and crosses her arms again, and waits.

Ed stands frozen, his gaze darting anxiously around the room and lingering on the path to the stairs. The door is still partially open behind him.

“Shut the door, Ed. I wasn’t under the impression you were  _ actually _ raised in a barn.”

He winces slightly at that as he quickly steps inside, pulling the door shut behind him. Still, he doesn’t say anything. His gaze drops to the floor.

“Well?”

A beat passes before he looks up at her. Glares at her, more like. Like he’s preparing himself for a punishment. That doesn’t bode well.

“Did you start a fight?”

Ed lets out a huff but otherwise doesn’t respond, still glaring at her.

“Idiot pupil!” She grabs the knife and slams it into the cutting board blade first. “Do think I’m teaching you so you can go out and start fights?! Is that what you’re using your training for?! You might as well take what I’ve taught you and join the military!”

Something strikes her as odd. Ed looks properly chastised, and a bit concerned about the knife now sticking out of the counter, but he seems… distracted? Like something else has his attention… There’s a tiny sound behind her, just as Ed finally opens his mouth. Izumi doesn’t wait for him to speak. She spins around. 

There’s one answer.

Al stands on the other side of the room, half crouched over. The back door clicks shut behind him. Though his face doesn’t look as bad as Ed’s, his arms are covered in scratches and some drying blood.

As she opens her mouth, a sharp meow breaks the silence, at which Al’s eyes go wide and he attempts to curl up more while also clearly preparing to run.

Izumi takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose with a sigh. Lovely.

Without looking, she says, keeping her voice as level as she can, “Explain what’s going on. Right. Now.”

Al nearly trips over himself trying to explain: “It wasn’t Brother’s fault, Teacher! We were out by the warehouse, and there was this poor cat caught in the wire fence. We went over to check on it, and it was hurt and couldn’t get out. We were trying to get it loose when these older kids came by and started laughing at the cat, and when Brother told them to stop they started making fun of us for trying to help. And when Brother told them to leave and pushed one of them-” Izumi flicks her eyes to Ed who had dropped his gaze to the floor again- “the boy punched him and they all started fighting. Brother was just trying to keep them away so I could get the cat free.”

Izumi looks down at Al’s arms. Now that he has straightened up, she can see a small, furry head peeking out of the bundle of cloth in his arms, which she now recognizes as the outer shirt Al had been wearing that morning.

Izumi turns to Ed, raising an eyebrow when he finally looks up at her, “And why did you try to hide this from me?”

Ed quickly looks back at the ground as Al responds, “We- we didn’t think you’d let us keep the cat… But we couldn’t just leave it! It’s hurt and looked so sad-”

Izumi lifts her hand, cutting Al off as she turns back to him. “It can stay for the night.” Goodness, the smile on the boy’s face almost breaks her, but she maintains her stern look, “Take it to Sig so he can help you bandage it. And have him look at your arms as well.”

Al bobs his head and dashes back through the door to the shop.

The floor behind her creaks, and she whips back around to see Ed attempting to sneak into the house, “And you!” He freezes and shoots her a guilty look. “Go sit on the sofa in the living room. You’d better be there when I come in.” With that, she turns and walks to the sink. She collects some first aid supplies and a wet rag before heading into the other room.

Ed is sitting on the sofa, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. Izumi walks over and sits on the coffee table across from him, setting the supplies next to her. His left knee is skinned, and she expects he’ll have bruises on his arms, but the worst seems to be his face. At least his nose isn’t broken. Of course, he’s also covered in dirt. Probably shouldn’t have had him sit on the sofa. She can have him clean it later.

She starts with his knee, gently wiping it the wet rag to try and clear away the dirt. Ed winces slightly but otherwise stays silent. As she starts to pull out a bandage and ointment, he mutters, “Can do that myself.”

Izumi looks up at him. He’s glaring at the wall, his fists clenched in the sofa cushions. She sighs as she continues to bandage his knee. Once that’s done, she leaves for a minute to get a clean rag. He’s poking at his eye when she comes back, and she pulls his hand, shaking her head, “Really Ed, you should know better.” When he gives her a look, she continues, “I can’t imagine this is your first black eye.”

He scowls at that but doesn’t correct her.

She wipes his face clean of dirt and the blood from his lip. She hands him a cool rag to hold over his eye and sits back on the table. “Alright, are you going to explain why you started a fight with those boys?”

Ed looks surprised, and almost offended, “Al told you, they were making fun of him.”

Izumi cocks an eyebrow, “Al said they were making fun of the  _ cat _ .”

Ed huffs, “Yeah, well they were also making fun of him, teasing him for crying about the cat.”

“And you thought that was a good enough reason to fight them?”

“They wouldn’t leave him alone! And I only pushed him. He’s the one that hit me!”

Izumi crosses her arms, “You think those boys have had training like you?”

Ed looks confused, “N-no…”

“So why did you think it was fair for you to use your training to fight them?”

“I- but that’s not-”

Izumi holds up her hand, “I’ve told you and your brother why I don’t approve of the state alchemists. This is the same thing. You are taking skills that you have and using them to get the better of someone without those skills. Does that sound like equivalent exchange?”

Ed hangs his head, “No, ma’am.” She waits a minute, trying to think of how better to get him to understand when he mutters, “Not like I hurt them worse than this.”

That throws her off. She takes a good look at the boy in front of her. He is rather small for his age; even Al is a bit taller. With their skill in alchemy, it’s easy to forget how young they are. Except, they aren’t exactly little children either. Al said  _ older  _ kids. They must have teenagers, probably a good bit bigger than Ed. And training or not, it’s only been a couple weeks; Ed’s hardly a dangerous fighter.

Izumi sighs, and leans forward to cup Ed’s chin, lifting his head to look at her, “Also, you and Al are apart of this house, the same as me and Sig and Mason. We work together and look after each other. You can come to any of us if something happens.” She pauses, searching his face, before adding, “You  _ should  _ come to us if something happens.” 

Ed nods, though she’s not sure he believes her. The boys have been without their parents for somewhere around five years now. She knows it’ll be hard to get Ed to accept help from anyone. She sends him to finish cleaning himself up, telling him he can check on Al and the cat when he’s done. 

She sits on the table for a minute after he leaves. She glances at the clock. There’s still some time before she wants to start dinner. She should have just enough time to show Ed why he should come to them for help. Now, Al said they were down by the warehouse...

* * *

 

She’s cleaning the lobby of the store the next day when it happens. The boys are on house arrest for the day for attempting to hide the fight and the cat. They’re supposed to be sweeping the street, though Al is rather distracted by said cat, which is curled up in the sun near him. She’s still not sure what to do with it.

“Hey! Kid!”

Izumi glances out the window at the shout. A group of three older boys stands uncertainly at the edge of the street. They are, indeed, a good foot taller than Ed, and aside from a few bruises not much worse for wear. Certainly not as bad off as Ed was. Al is crouched down by the cat still, but Ed has lifted his broom like he plans to use it as a weapon. She bites back a chuckle at that.

“Look, we’re sorry about yesterday,” the boy in front says, hands stuffed in his pockets. The other two nod. 

Ed lowers the broom, just a bit, “O-ok…?”

The boy in front gives a firm nod and heads back down the street. The other two look like they’re going to follow when one of them looks over at Al, “Is- is the cat ok?”

Al looks down at the cat, who takes the moment to yawn and stretch, and looks back up and nods, “Yeah, he’s having a little trouble walking, but he’s doing better.”

Izumi watches for another minute as the boy comes over and Al shows him how to carefully pet the cat. Ed returns to sweeping, though he seems to be talking, at least a bit, to the other boy. A bit to her surprise, he looks back at her through the window, a questioning look on his face. It could be that he’s looking for permission, given that he is on house arrest, but there’s a good bit of surprise on his face as well. She smiles, gives him a small nod, and turns back to the shop. 

She hasn’t really doubted her ability to train the boys in alchemy. She’s confident enough in her own skills, and they both have shown a natural talent for it. But taking them in, she and Sig have talked about whether this is what the boys need. They’re so young, and she wonders if she should be doing more for them. But it’s clear, at least from Ed, that that’s not what they want. But she supposes this, letting them know that they belong, that they have people here to help them, and finding small things like this to do for them, is enough for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Took a bit longer to get this one how I wanted. I kept changing Izumi's conversation with Ed, but I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. Izumi's tricky but fun to write. I tried to play a little with the idea that, especially at the beginning, she's having to balance viewing the boys as her students (and based on her teaching methods, somewhat as adults) and seeing them as children who need to be looked after.  
> I also threw in some of Mason, cause he's freaking great and one of the things I'm said Brotherhood didn't include is his role in the Curtis household.  
> If you want to rant with me about FMA or get (potential) updates about the fic, you can check out my Tumblr https://rizaisthesuperstar.tumblr.com/  
> Leave a comment and let me know what you think!


	4. Colonel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy Mustang is not a stranger to panic attacks.  
> Of course, for most soldiers in the military, panic attacks are an understood part of their lives, both having them and seeing them.  
> So, regardless of what Roy tells himself, there is likely more to how he reacts than simply his time in the military.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up, this chapter deals with a character having a panic attack, so consider this a potential trigger warning for panic attacks and ptsd flashbacks (though the flashback is just referenced).  
> Also, I have decided to change the chapter titles, so just a heads up for that.

Roy Mustang is not a stranger to panic attacks.

Of course, for most soldiers in the military, panic attacks are an understood part of their lives, both having them and seeing them.

So, regardless of what Roy tells himself, there is likely more to how he reacts than simply his time in the military.

Fullmetal is leaning against the doorway into the main office. It’s around lunchtime, and due to his habit of dodging his paperwork, Roy was left alone in the office to finish his work. It is this habit of dodging paperwork that has led to Roy leaning against his own doorway, watching as Fullmetal talks with two other soldiers. Or rather, they talk to him.

They’re higher ranking soldiers. Roy can’t get a good look at their faces, but their uniforms and the fact that Fullmetal is showing the barest amount of respect is enough to tell him their approximate rank. 

He can’t quite hear what they are saying, but Fullmetal doesn’t seem to really be paying attention. He really should grab the kid, have him give his report, and get back to work before Hawkeye returns. But the sooner the report is given, the sooner the paperwork resumes.

There’s a lull in background noise, and Roy catches just a snippet of the conversation. One of the men, a brigadier general by his uniform, grins widely, a condescending look in his eye. His full sentence is lost, but Roy hears the mocking, “right, little alchemist?”

It should be nothing. The men both laugh as Fullmetal reacts. It’s only been a month at most and already the kid has a reputation about short comments.

It should be nothing.

But it’s not.

In a split second, Roy takes in what the other men miss. He’s been on the receiving end of plenty of short rants, and this isn’t it. Fullmetal has stiffened, standing up from his position against the doorframe. His fists are curling and uncurling, his arms twitching, but he’s not shouting. In fact, he’s not saying anything at all.

As another second passes, Fullmetal starts to slowly edge away from the soldiers. He doesn’t seem to be looking at them anymore.

A bad feeling starts to creep into Roy’s stomach. He clears his throat. It’s enough to catch the attention of the other soldiers, but apparently not Fullmetal. And yes, he’s definitely looking at something that isn’t there.

Roy steps away from the doorway, lifting his voice to be sure he’s heard, “Fullmetal.”

This time the kid whips around at his voice, and Roy gets a look at his eyes. The bad feeling sticks. He’s right. Fullmetal’s having a panic attack.

He jerks his head, “My office, now.” 

Fullmetal practically bolts into the office, which is almost just as concerning. He shouldn’t want this meeting any more than Roy does. He gives a cursory nod to the other men and steps inside, shutting the door.

He turns to find Fullmetal pacing around. He’s discarded his gloves and is rubbing his automail arm, both his arms still twitching. He’s muttering away furiously.

“Fullmetal.”

He doesn’t respond. His mouth hasn’t stopped moving. 

“Edward!”

Fullmetal--no, Ed, because this isn’t a soldier having a panic attack, it’s a twelve-year-old boy and he needs to acknowledge that--claps both hands to his ears, squeezing his eyes shut, “I know! Shut up!” His eyes go wide, like he hadn’t meant to say that, “Sorry! It’s fine! I’m fine! Just leave! I’m- I’m- It’s not- I’m not here- there! Shut up!”

Roy walks closer--don’t touch him, he reminds himself--planting himself in Ed’s path, “Listen, just sit down, ok? That’s it right now. Just sit down.”

Ed glances around and lowers his arms, his left hand going back to his right wrist. Now that he’s stopped moving, it’s clear that his legs are shaking too. He jerks a nod and stumbles over to one of the couches, dropping onto it. His right knee starts bouncing, and he continues to shift and twitch uneasily. He picks up the stream of muttering again as his hand continues to worry at his automail.

Ok, he’s sitting. Step one accomplished. What next? Roy goes over to the desk. He should still have some mints in here, and he thinks the stress ball Hughes gave him is still here somewhere too. Automail is tough, but he’s not sure it’s great for Ed to keep rubbing it.

Mints and stress ball found, Roy walks over to the couch, sitting down slowly on the coffee table so that he’s right across from Ed. He’s still rambling, though at least he seems to be breathing, not well but he isn’t hyperventilating. He tries to pick out some of what the kid’s saying, but it’s largely incoherent. He does pick up a few words Ed keeps repeating: gate, truth, toll, Al.

Roy Mustang knows a flashback when he sees one. He may not know exactly what happened to Ed the night he broke the taboo, but he feels fairly confident that it would be enough to give someone like  _ him  _ nightmares.

Maybe his military title will help keep him grounded. Roy keeps his voice quiet, “Fullmetal.” 

Ed looks up. He’s biting his lip, hard enough to draw blood, assumably in an attempt to stop the compulsive rambling. He can practically see Ed straining his muscles as he tries to stop bouncing his leg. “Sorry- It’s not- it’s fine- I can- just go- my toll- I know- I’ve got it- shut up!” He drops his head at this, clapping his hands over his mouth.

Roy takes a deep breath. Be patient. Work with him. “Fullmetal.”

Ed looks up, his hands still covering his mouth. His eyes look terrified.

“You’re safe. Wherever you were, you’re not there now. I’m here. We’re in my office in Eastern Command, just you and me.”

Ed barely nods his head. Roy mirrors this and lifts the mint box, “Here, take one of these.”

Ed looks down skeptically. His arms are still shaking and he’s started bouncing his knee again. He starts to shake his head. Roy opens the box and takes one himself before offering it to Ed again. Ed still looks skeptical, but he takes one. 

Roy hands him the stress ball next. When Ed doesn’t take it, he adds, “Probably better than your automail.”

Ed looks down at his hand before snatching the ball from Roy. He clinches it in both hands and works away at it.

Roy nods, “Alright. Now, I want you to tell me five things you can see.”

Ed glares at him, “I’m not a little kid! This is- I’ve got- need any help-” He’s straining to try and stop his shaking again, and instead it’s causing his entire body to shake.

Be patient, but don’t let him get lost rambling again. “Fullmetal, I promise this will help. What are five things you can see?”

Ed lets out what is likely supposed to be an irritated huff but comes out like a strangled gasp, “I- the-” He lets out a growl, screwing up his face. 

Roy waits until he looks up. He’s almost tempted to give him a sympathetic smile, but he suspects Ed will take it the wrong way, “Just what you see.”

Ed jerks his head, taking a shaky breath before trying again, “Table. Couch. You.” His eyes dart around, “Shelf. Desk.”

Roy nods, “Alright, now four things you can hear.”

Another shaky breath. Ed closes his eyes, though he quickly snaps them open again. “Cars. Air vent. Footsteps.” He pauses before adding, “Thunder.”

Roy glances at the window. Great, rain. He’d hoped the storm would hold off- Focus. “Three things you can touch.”

Ed looks down at the ball in his hands, “Rubber ball.” He moves his left hand to touch his automail, “Metal.” He moves his hand to his pants, “leather,” and grabs the ball again.

“Two things you can smell.”

Ed takes a deep breath, and Roy’s glad to notice it’s less shaky. “Ink. Mint.”

“And one thing you can taste.”

Ed flicks his gaze back to Roy, this time the annoyed look lands a bit better, “Mint.”

Roy nods, “Good. Try taking a deep breath with me.” He straightens up, taking an over exaggerated breath.

Ed hesitates, but follows suit, straightening up and taking a deep, though shorter, breath. This time it’s more even.

Roy takes a quick second to look over Ed. His leg is still bouncing, though much less noticeably now. His shoulders aren’t hunched anymore, but he still looks more tense than usual. His hands have mostly stopped shaking. And he’s stop muttering. They seem to have made it through the worst of Ed’s panic attack.

Ed has apparently also been assessing himself as he shifts like he’s going to stand, “Sorry, I’ll just- I can handle it-”

Roy lifts a hand, “You’re fine. I don’t have anywhere I need to be and neither do you.”

Roy’s surprised to notice Ed blushing. He ducks his head a bit, “I’m fine. It’s not- I don’t need you to baby me. I should be able to manage it. I can-”

“Edward.” Roy waits until Ed looks up, “You’re hardly the first person in the military to have a panic attack, and there’s nothing wrong with getting help.” Ed looks like he wants to object, so he continues, “You think you’re born knowing how to handle this?” He pauses, “And speaking from personal experience, they’re much worse alone.”

Ed’s eyes widen just a bit, and Roy allows himself a moment of pride that the kid takes the comment genuinely instead of trying to turn it into a taunt. Ed drops his gaze again and mutters, “Just kind of thought you’d, you know, tell me to man up or somethin’...”

Well, considering the kid’s only been in the military for one month that’s not a completely unfair assumption. “Like I said, speaking from personal experience, it would hardly be fair for me to say that.” 

Ed gives a slight nod but doesn’t say anything else. He’s still breathing a bit shallow, and Roy knows how taxing a panic attack like that can be, mentally and physically. Not to mention with it likely being triggered by a flashback, he knows it’ll be hard for Ed not to dwell on those memories. So, Roy walks over to the desk, digging around in the piles of paperwork until he finds some blank paper.

He grabs the paper, a spare pen, and an empty folder to bare down on and walks back over to Ed. “Here,” he hands the assortment over, “Why don’t you try and clear your mind with a little project. Draw me a map of Eastern Command based on memory.”

Ed looks down at the paper and gives Roy a skeptically look. “I don’t need-”

Roy cuts in, “After that, you need to clear your head and focus on the present. I’d suggest a walk, but it’s apparently going to start raining.” He glances at Ed’s automail, “So, something light and easy should help. You’ve only been in the military for a month, that’s about as present as I can offer.”

Ed takes the paper and pen cautiously, watching Roy as he returns to his desk. As Roy sits down, he adds, “Don’t hurry through it. Take your time, focus on right now. That’s to help if you start drifting.”

It’s quiet for a bit, and Roy starts to look back at the paperwork he’d abandoned earlier. Still, he can’t quite make himself focus. He keeps going over Ed’s comments.. A twelve-year-old shouldn’t react like that to having a panic attack, especially as it seems this isn’t his first.

“If something triggers this again,” Ed tenses a bit but doesn’t look up as Roy speaks, “I can guarantee you that anyone in this office would be willing and able to help you through it.” Ed doesn’t answer, so Roy turns back to his work, “Like I said, they’re much worse alone.”

It’s almost soft enough that he doesn’t hear it, but he does.

“It’s my burden. I deserve this.”

Roy’s head snaps back up. Ed isn’t looking at him. He clearly didn’t mean for Roy to hear that. But he did, and he can’t let that slide.

“Not any more than I deserve mine.”

Ed looks up at that.

Roy leans back a bit, “You’ve suffered plenty for your actions. You don’t need to punish yourself with this. It’s not wrong to get help and make it easier. Continuing to punish yourself more than the universe already has isn’t going to fix anything.” He’s not sure Ed believes him, but he has to make sure the kid understands this, “At the very least do it for Alphonse.” That gets his attention. “I get help when I need it to make sure I can look after my team. If for nothing else, do the same for your brother.”

Ed nods and looks back down at the paper in his hands. Roy takes a deep breath as he turns back to his desk, but he can’t focus on his work. He pulls out a notepad and starts making notes for Hawkeye. The boys are in Eastern for at least another day or two, and he wants to make sure a few “supplies” find their way to them before they leave.

Maybe it’s crossing a line. He doubts there are many, if any, other commanders who would go this far for their subordinates. But this isn’t any subordinate, and he isn’t other commanders. He’d do this for any of his men, he tells himself. And he probably would, but…

But it matters that it’s Ed.

It matters that it’s the twelve-year-old kid he brought into the military, a kid who at the age of eleven had seen enough trauma to give him ptsd to rival any soldier from combat.

He’s wondered before if bringing Ed in was the right call. He’s not completely certain. But the kid has had other panic attacks. Would have had them regardless of Roy’s recruitment. So maybe this, as small as it seems, is a way he can offer support. And if he “forgets” to have Ed give him the report, and if a hot water bottle finds its way to Ed’s shoulder after he falls asleep on the couch, well, he’s just looking after his subordinates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! This is longest I've taken on a chapter. I did some research on panic attacks, mostly on how to help someone through a panic attack and help them deal with a flashback. I based Ed's panic attack off of discussion from people who have panic attacks. Hopefully all of that comes through. I really love Roy and Ed's relationship, and I thought that it would be nice to see Roy, who we know struggles with ptsd, helping Ed deal with his own.  
> A few notes on this chapter: I'm trying with each of these to keep the description/narration in line with the pov character, which is why I use different terms to refer to Ed. However, it was getting a little weird having Roy refer to him as Fullmetal for this entire piece, so that's the main reason for the transition to referring to him as Ed, even though he continues to call him Fullmetal. I also mentioned at the beginning that I've changed the chapter titles. I decided that, like I'm having the internal description of each chapter align with the pov character, I want the chapter titles to line up with how Ed thinks of these people.   
> Of course thank you for reading and please leave me a comment! I have so many thoughts about this chapter and things that just didn't fit into to, so if you have any questions about it please let me know, either here or on my FMA tumblr: https://rizaisthesuperstar.tumblr.com/ I am always up to talk about anything FMA related! I also give updates for this fic there. Next chapter will hopefully be up soon as I am planning to work on this during Camp NaNoWriMo this year, so keep an eye out!


	5. Lieutenant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the stand-off with Scar, there's some concern over where the boys will spend the night. And whether officially her responsibility or not, Hawkeye doesn't leave members of her team out in the rain, so to speak.
> 
> Set after the fight with Scar in episode 5.

It’s getting late by the time their meeting finally wraps up. Clean up on-site took some time. The Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes insisted that Edward get checked out by the medics, just to make sure there were no injuries beyond his automail, and also to detach what was left of his arm so that he wouldn’t hurt himself worse.

Bits from his automail as well as the pieces of Alphonse’s armor were gathered up, and they’d managed a sort of tarp covering for his body, at least to make things less obvious. And therein lies the problem.

Edward and Alphonse have been staying at the military hotel. There won’t be a train for Resembool until late tomorrow morning. And not only can Alphonse not currently walk, but it is fairly obvious that something is off about him. With the general populace, it’s not much of a concern. But with the military...

The Colonel and Edward actually agree on the fact that they can’t return to the military hotel for the evening. However, Edward steadfastly refuses to leave Alphonse in the office overnight by himself, and the Colonel objects to leaving Edward “unsupervised” in his office all night.

Riza glances at the clock. It’s nearly ten-thirty. One look at Edward says he’s about to crash, and she doesn’t need to look to know that the Colonel is in a similar place.

She glances around the room. Hughes would likely take the boys in, but of course, he’s also at the military hotel, as is Armstrong. There’s also the matter of transportation, and in their unit, she’s the only one with a car.

“Sir, if I can offer a suggestion. My apartment is close by.” She looks at the boys, “You two can stay with me, we should be able to get Alphonse there with the car, and Major Armstrong can stop by to pick you up in the morning.”

The Colonel throws her a quick look that says he doesn't want her taking on too much, but nods, “That should work out fine.”

Edward apparently feels somewhat similarly, “But-”

The Colonel turns to him, “Look Fullmetal, you need somewhere other than the military hotel, and with Scar still in the city, it would be best if had protection.”

Edward still looks uncomfortable, but after Alphonse agrees, he gives a curt nod, “Alright, as long as we’re not putting you out, Lieutenant.”

Riza smiles, “Not at all.”

Havoc insists on helping them get Alphonse into and out of the car, waving away Riza’s concerns. “It’s just a few blocks to my place. Not a big deal.”

After some debate--Riza feels bad just setting Alphonse on the floor, but as he points out, with one leg and arm missing it’ll be hard for him to balance in a chair--they get Alphonse settled, Havoc heads out, and Riza sets up the couch for Edward. She’d considered offering her bed since he is sort of injured, but she knows it would make him feel uncomfortable. Besides, she has a feeling the boys would rather be in the same room.

She shows Edward the bathroom and makes herself some tea while he showers. It’s nearing midnight by this point. With the manhunt starting for Scar, she’ll have a busy day tomorrow. Not to mention the added stress of protecting the Colonel. Of course, keeping an eye out for him is always a concern, but she isn’t usually looking for a serial killer. Or an Ishvalan.

She drinks her tea and does her best to push those thoughts out of her mind. She doesn’t need to dredge up those memories more than they already have been. Instead, she focuses on the lecture she’ll be giving the Colonel in the morning. Sure, he gets caught up in the moment sometimes and doesn’t always pay attention, but it had been raining all day. She finds it hard to believe that he’d simply forgotten. Which of course leaves only one option: he had deliberately put himself in danger to get Scar away from Edward.

Part of her is thankful that he did, as everything did turn out mostly alright. The other part is furious with him for being so reckless. They’d had Scar surrounded. Surely they could have gotten him away from Edward without the Colonel nearly getting himself killed.

Edward comes back out and wishes her goodnight before curling up on the couch. She puts away her tea, checking on Alphonse one more time. She wishes she had something to give him. There aren’t many books in her apartment, and when she offers he turns her down as he’s not sure he could read one in his current position.

So, she goes to her room, showers, and climbs into bed. It’s past midnight once she does. She hopes she’ll get a few hours sleep. After today though, she’s not sure there’s much chance for that.

* * *

As expected, Riza gets about two hours of sleep (if she’s being generous) before the nightmares shake her awake, her heart in her throat. She throws off the covers and goes to the bathroom, rinsing off her face. She stays longer than she really needs to, staring into the mirror. They haven’t been this bad for… well, for some time. She’d suspected the confrontation with Scar would exacerbate them, but she hadn’t quite expected it to hit her like a truck.

If they’re this bad for her, there’s no doubt that the Colonel…

She returns to her room, glancing at her clock, wincing as she realizes she misread it. It’s hardly been _one_ hour. She looks back at her bed, images of desert, sand, and the scope on her rifle flash through her mind again. She smooths back the covers and takes one of the books she keeps by the bed, just for times like this. 

As she sits down on the bed, she considers for a moment making some tea. Having that smell, any smell really, in the air usually helps, but she doesn’t want to wake Edward. Even if she didn’t wake him, she would probably wake Black Hayate, and if he’s sleeping with Edward--which she suspects he may be--that would likely disturb him as well. So for now, she contents herself with the book.

She stares at the pages, trying to read, though she can’t quite process what she’s reading enough to turn the page. Glancing at the clock she lets out a sigh, seeing that it’s still only 1:30.

Then the door creaks.

Her gaze snaps up to the door to see a very sheepish looking Edward standing in the doorframe. He only hesitates a moment, casting a quick glance behind him as he slips inside. He looks back at her, his head still ducked slightly, and points towards the bathroom.

She nods and looks back down at the book, waiting until she hears the door close to look up again. How long has Edward been awake? Did he have a nightmare too? It seems a bit hasty to jump to that conclusion; she hadn’t heard any noise.

After a minute, the door opens, and Edward comes back out. She realizes that he’s got the blanket from the couch wrapped around his shoulders.

He remains standing there, clutching the blanket as he stares at the floor. Finally, he looks up, and Riza knows beyond a shadow of a doubt why he’s awake. His eyes don’t look too different than her own did, staring back from the mirror.

Riza shifts her position on the bed so her legs hang over the side and pats the mattress beside her. Edward glances at the door again, but after a moment of hesitation, makes his way to the bed, sinking carefully onto it.

Riza waits a moment, giving Edward the chance to start the conversation, though she doubts he will. Edward is very guarded about things like nightmares, and she suspects the only reason he’s still here is because Alphonse is in the other room. If it hadn’t already been clear how protective he was of his little brother, after today there was no doubt. That was likely why she hadn’t heard anything. Three years on the road, four years since they crossed that boundary, plenty of time for Edward to train himself to suffer in silence. 

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Edward cringes a bit at that, ducking his head again, before he responds in a soft whisper, “Yeah.”

Riza nods, “I can’t imagine it was an easy one, not after today.”

He nods but doesn’t reply.

She doesn’t want to push him, force him to talk about things he doesn’t want to, but Riza--perhaps more than anyone else in the boys’ lives right now--understands what maintaining a mask and not having a confidant does to a child. And however close the boys are, this moment here is enough to tell her that Edward doesn’t want to “burden” his little brother with his nightmares.

“I think today sent us all reeling a bit.” She gives Edward a bare smile, as much as she can manage right now, as he looks up, “The Civil War is always close for us, but having it brought to the forefront like that, after so long,” she pauses to take a breath. She doesn’t want to burden Edward with too much of this, which is fine for her to do because she’s the adult and he’s the child. “It makes it harder to see beyond that.”

She glances at Edward; he looks almost surprised. Once she looks though he quickly glances away. Well, that’s as much as she’s willing to put on him, at least for now.

“How-” Edward stops, bits his lip, before continuing, “How do you…” he trails off, eyes fixed on the floor again. He doesn’t need to continue, she knows what he’s asking. _How do you keep going?_

“Well, I remind myself of why I’m still here, why I’m moving forward. It also helps to know there are people I can talk with if I need to.” She feels a bit guilty for saying that. She, Hughes, and the Colonel haven’t talked about Ishval _like that_ , well, _since_ Ishval. Still, she did say that it was _knowing_ she could talk, and they have certainly had some nights of brooding in silence in a bar together.

Edward lets out a huffed breath, “I- I almost-” his hand clinches around the blanket, and she wonders if it helps him feel less vulnerable while he’s missing his automail, “died today. I could have-” he gulps a breath, “And Al…”

Edward’s hand tightens even more around the blanket, and Riza puts a hand on his shoulder, “It’s alright, Ed. You can talk about it. This stays between you and me.”

Something in his eyes shifts, and Riza feels like she can almost hear the switch flip as he nods. He steadies his breath and starts again, “It’s not that things haven’t gotten, you know, _bad_ before. But that was the first time that I- that I was so close.” He lets out a breath that almost sounds like a laugh, “Though I guess I got pretty close that night…”

Riza tightens her hand on his shoulder a bit. She’s seen this part of Edward before: his self-deprecating nature and the way he talks too casually about things that should be horrifying. It’s not a surprise anymore, but it always leaves an uncomfortable feeling in her chest. Because this is how the Colonel and Hughes talk when they all get together at those sleazy bars. This isn’t how a fifteen-year-old child should talk.

“I guess I hadn’t really thought about what would happen if…” he gulps before continuing, “Even right then, all I was thinking about was making sure Al got out ok. But now that it’s over, it’s like my brain can’t stop wondering what would have happened. Would Al have ever gotten his body back? What if something happened to him in the ally anyways? What if- crap!” Ed’s breathing starts to come in gasps, “Al’s blood seal is _my blood_ ! What if _he_ died when _I_ died!” Edward’s volume has picked up over this speech, which he suddenly seems to realize as he claps his hand over his mouth and anxiously glances at the door.

Unsure of what else to do, Riza slides he hand to Ed’s other shoulder and pulls him against her side, just a bit. He’s still breathing heavy, so she takes his hand and places it on her stomach, so he can feel her breathing. They sit there for a moment until he’s calmed down a bit. She lets go of his hand and slides her own back to his other shoulder.

He looks up at her through his bangs, “Sorry for that.”

She gives him a small smile, “Don’t worry about it. It’s happened to me plenty of times.”

Edward glances back at the door.

Riza waits a moment before asking, “Do you talk with Alphonse when you have nightmares?”

Edward huffs out a soft laugh, “Not really. I mean, I’m sure he knows I have them.” He pulls his left leg up and hugs it to his chest, “But, he doesn’t have nightmares. And part of me is glad, and the rest of me hates that I’m glad. But if he doesn’t have them, I don’t want him to have to deal with mine.”

Riza hums, taking a moment to think before saying, “I can understand that, but I think we both know that just because you aren’t asleep doesn’t keep those memories from coming.”

Edward ducks his head again, so she continues before he can start feeling guilty, “I’m not saying you need to share what you see with him, especially not if you don’t want to, but it might help you both just to talk about _having_ the nightmares.”

Edward nods.

“And like I said, I’ve found that it can be helpful knowing I have someone I can talk to.”

Edward looks up at her, and she nods, hoping he understands. He returns her nod, and she thinks he probably does.

Edward stands up from the bed, “Guess I should probably try to get a little more sleep. Not sure I’ll get much next to Major Armstrong.” He looks back, a sheepish smile on his face, “Sorry for keeping you up.” He walks back towards the door but stops before opening it.

He keeps his back turned when he speaks, his voice much softer this time, “Lieutenant, do your nightmares ever scare you?”

She pauses before answering. Because of course they do. Everything in them terrifies her, brings up horrible thoughts and feelings. But they’ve already talked about that. So what is Ed really asking…

His shoulders are hunched again, and he shuffles his feet a bit, still refusing to turn around.

Then it clicks. He doesn’t mean scared like _that_. He means it much more simply than that. Afraid of things that might happen, things that might be hiding in the dark. Perhaps specifically, afraid of a man with a scar.

“Yes, sometimes.” A pause. He doesn’t turn, but she can see his posture straightening, “Not as frequently anymore, but sometimes they do.” It happened far more often in Ishval. Dreams about failing on missions, failing to save someone, failing to protect herself, sometimes even of shooting the wrong person. Dreams about people not coming back to camp, often the Colonel.

She thinks back to today, how idiotically he’d acted, how terrified she’d felt for that split second before she’d reached him, when Scar’s hand had been inches from his face. It’s really a miracle that wasn’t a feature in her dreams, though if she tries to sleep again it likely will be.

Edward still hasn’t moved, and she suspects he’s debating whether to say something else. Since she suspects what it is, she decides to spare him that, “For those nightmares, I found that having someone stand watch can sometimes help.”

Edward turns to look at her, a vaguely hopeful look on his face. She takes her book and stands from the bed, “If it won’t bother you, I was thinking earlier about getting some tea and checking on Alphonse.”

Edward bobs his head and turns back to the door, but not before she sees a small smile on his face.

Riza heads to the kitchen, giving Alphonse a short nod as she opens the cabinet. She pulls out the coffee instead. Her dreams aren’t likely to let her get any more sleep tonight, but if she’s going to properly carry out her watch shift, she needs to be awake and alert.

As she sits down at the table with her cup, prepared to chat with Alphonse, and check to see how _he’s_ holding up after everything, she glances through to the living room, smiling as she sees Ed’s eyes are closed and his breathing has evened out.

These boys may not be her responsibility, not even as much as they are the Colonel’s, but that doesn’t change the fact that they need people. And Riza Hawkeye knows what it’s like to need someone and not have anyone. So whenever she can, she will look for ways that she can help, and hopefully it will be enough to help them reach their goal. After all, behind fire-arms, support is Riza Hawkeye’s specialty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurray! It's finally up! Thank you guys for being so patient! I really don't know why this took me so long. I wasn't super hyped when I started writing this chapter--for whatever reason--but now that it's done I'm really happy with it!  
> I was thinking about the aftermath of this fight, and it occurred to me that part of the reason Armstrong goes with the boys is because Al can't walk and Ed can't carry him, which then led to me wondering where they spent the night, since Greed tells us later that all of the soldiers present at the scene had a gag order placed on them by Mustang. So, surely they didn't spend the night at the military hotel or at the base, where any number of people could have seen Al.  
> This was also tricky, cause I didn't want this to overlap with the conversation Hawkeye and Ed have in part 3 after the hostage thing goes down, so I wrote this as a kind of groundwork for that conversation.
> 
> Anyways, I've rambled enough! As always, y'all can check out my FMA blog at https://rizaisthesuperstar.tumblr.com/  
> I'll post fic updates, my inbox is open, all that jazz! Let me know what you thought about the chapter, and I'll see y'all for the next one!


	6. Mustang's Unit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed may not realize it at first, but he's a member of Mustang's unit. And Mustang's unit takes care of each other, even if it's in unusual ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes! It has been a while since I worked on this. Hope the wait hasn't been too long. Still very excited and invested in this story, and I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. This one's a little more "older sibling" than parent, but it's my firm belief that every adult character in FMA (other than the villains) is either a parental figure or an older sibling. So, enjoy!

Furey is making that “I feel nervous about what other people are saying” face. Which you’d think by now, the kid would have realized only adds more fuel to the fire, or at least to Havoc’s fire. It would seem today is not that day, which is just as well.

 

“Relax, Furey. Who are you worried about anyways? You really think Grummen is going to have a problem?”

 

Havoc snorts. Isn’t that a funny picture. Honestly, if this will be the thing that gets Mustang pulled into Grummen’s office, Havoc is even more set now than he was. What a sight that’d be.

 

Furey stammers for a minute as they round back to the office. They pass by another open office in a full on frenzy. Breda ignores them, Furey ducks his head, but Havoc takes a second to catch a few eyes with a smirk. He doesn’t like to rub stuff in people’s faces, not usually. But these are the guys that like to take pot shots at the crew. Not that Havoc always minds; it is part of the chief’s plan, but one of the offices on base  _ isn’t  _ in a frenzy today, and Havoc doesn’t mind letting them know.

 

Besides, he thinks as he lights his cigarette, pot shots at them is one thing. Pot shots at the boss and his brother are an entirely different thing.

 

Falman is, of course, working at his desk. Havoc, intent on taking full advantage of their situation, drops into his seat and kicks his feet up. He discreetly fingers the money in his pocket, attempting to count it by feel. He’s got enough to take a few hands, and Breda’s been bragging about his new place’s cheap rent…

 

Before he gets much further, the door slams open with a familiar thud, and the smirk on Havoc’s face grows into a full-blown grin, “Hey there, Boss.”

 

Ed looks strange without Al beside him. Havoc had figured Al’s imposing form was part of the reason the boss always looked so small, but standing in the doorway, the absence of Al somehow makes Ed seem even smaller, like he takes up even less space.

 

The kid barely acknowledges them as he stomps across the room, grumbling as he does, “Supposed to give the bastard something.”

 

“Unfortunately both the Colonel and the Lieutenant are absent on other business at the moment,” Falman says, still focused on his desk.

 

Havoc bites back a snicker at Ed’s stricken face, attempting to merge annoyance and relief.

 

Breda pulls back one of the chairs, “Don’t sweat it, chief. Boss’ll be back before too long.”

 

Furey’s head pops up from behind his absurdly large radio project, “But you said-”

 

Havoc reaches over and pushes his head back down behind the contraption, “Might as well stick it out. Pretty sure the Colonel won’t take ‘You were gone when I stopped by’ as an excuse.”

 

Ed’s gaze darts from the chair to the Colonel’s office door and back. It looks for a second like they’d convinced him, but he shakes his head and starts back towards the hall, “Al’s waiting for me back at the library-”

 

At that moment, the siren kicks off.

 

Ed’s reaction might be funny, if it wasn’t Ed. Something Havoc can verify as Furey reacts the same way. When Furey yelps and dives under the desk, it’s hilarious. When Ed lets out a similar noise and flinches hard into the table before scrambling under it, Havoc feels a strong urge to crawl under there with him and assure him everything will be fine.

 

 Breda rolls his eyes at Furey as Falman crosses to close and lock the door. Havoc takes a second to peer out the doors at the other offices. Oh yes, this is going to be great.

 

Turning back into the room, Havoc decides that Ed is the most immediate concern to deal with. Dropping his feet off the desk, he ducks down to look at the kid. He at least doesn’t look  _ too  _ freaked out, mostly just confused.

 

“Don’t worry, Chief. It’s just a drill.”

 

Ed’s face flushes a bit as he stands up. Or attempts to stand up.

 

“I kno-” 

 

The sound of Ed’s head colliding with the table makes Havoc wince. Ed hisses and clutches his head, but otherwise tries to brush it off, “I know that. Just- just didn’t know it was today, the… uh… you know…”

 

Falaman speaks up, “The Infiltration Lock-Down Drill.”

 

“Right, that. Infiltration… lock-down?” Ed’s face shifts into a confused look. Havoc studies him for a minute. He hadn’t hit his head  _ that _ hard, right?

 

“Under certain circumstances, the protocol for an infiltration is to lock down part of the base, like if the Fuhrer happened to be here. So, during an infiltration drill, they’ll choose an office to be on lock-down. They get tested to make sure they’ve prepared to keep out intruders” Breda glances at Havoc with a smirk, “Well, at least for the other offices.”

 

Fuery, having lifted himself out from under his desk, pipes up, “You keep saying that, but what if they  _ do  _ come by-”

 

Havoc reaches over and pushes his head down again, “So, since the Chief is out of office, we get to stay in the office, on lock-down,” he returns Breda’s grin, “For, oh, a good few hours.”

 

Ed narrows his eyes, “Ok, but I need to get back to the library.” He starts to head towards the door.

 

To Havoc’s surprise, Fuery is the one to stop him. “No!” He grabs Ed’s arm, dropping it quickly when he receives Ed’s glare. “We may or may not be getting the full test treatment--” Havoc rolls his eyes-- “But they definitely will be checking to make sure that our door is locked down. If they see you out in the hall, they won’t just get onto you. They’ll get on to us.”

 

Havoc’s sure he hasn’t seen anyone this panicked over the prospect of getting in trouble since the Academy. Clearly they haven’t been doing enough to fully integrate Fuery into the Colonel’s office.

 

And apparently they haven’t for Ed either, though for different reasons.

 

“Look, I don’t have time to lay around all afternoon. I have to get back to- back to the- the- book… office…”

 

Falaman actually looks up from his desk, “Library?”

 

“Yeah…” Ed shakes his head, as if to clear it. “Library…”   
  


Breda stands up, “You ok there, Chief? Didn’t smack your head too hard, huh?”

 

Ed shakes his head again, a little more firmly, “No, just tired. You know, lot of stuff to go through…” He trails off, and Havoc feels a bit more concerned when instead of starting for the door again, the kid just stares off into space.

 

“Uh,” Havoc waits til Ed blinks and looks up at him, “How much sleep you been gettin?”

 

“Enough.”

 

Ah yes. What a reassuring answer.

 

Havoc exchanges a glance with Breda, and stands to approach Ed.

 

“Look,” Havoc slings an arm around Ed’s shoulder, turning him away from the door, “whatever research you’ve got, I’m sure it can wait a few hours. Besides, this is the perfect excuse for a break!”

 

Ed glares up at him, “I don’t  _ need _ a break. I  _ need _ to get back to my research.” He goes to shove off Havoc’s arm.

 

There’s a moment, just a short one, where Havoc evaluates the situation. Because, all else aside, Ed is technically a major. That makes him the highest ranked officer in the office at the moment. The kid hasn’t tried to throw his weight around with that title, at least to Havoc’s knowledge, but he could. He takes just a moment to imagine this with any other officer. Heck, with even Hawkeye, who’s only one rank above him, this would probably be suicide. But Havoc’s not just a soldier, he’s also an oldest sibling. And he can see the things Ed’s hiding, and he knows from experience that as the oldest, Ed is going to run himself til he crashes.

 

So, Havoc swallows the potentially career-ending threats, gives Ed the same look he’s given his younger siblings a thousand times, and takes a shot: “You tellin’ me you  _ aren’t _ going to take advantage of being in the office when the Colonel isn’t?”

 

Havoc hasn’t spent a lot of time around the Elrics, but it’s been enough to notice that the Colonel seems to bring out the immature teenager in Ed more than anyone or anything else. And alchemic genius or not, with Ed’s temper and general affect, there’s no way he wasn’t getting into trouble back home. Surely Ed will pick up on where Havoc is going.

 

Ed stares for a minute, which is setting off even more alarms for how well he’s taking care of himself, before the dots connect. An honestly slightly terrifying grin spreads across his face, “The office that’s normally locked?”

 

“The office that is normally locked  _ for people who only use keys _ .”

 

“You are going to get shot,” Breda interjects, though his face doesn’t look totally disapproving.

 

Havoc waves a hand, “Nah, Hawkeye only cares if it disrupts work.” He crouches down next to Ed, turning both their faces towards Breda, “And we would  _ never  _ cause that kind of trouble.” He smiles as innocently as he can, glancing at Ed out of the corner of his eye. And holy crap, this kid could probably rob you blind with that smile if he wanted.

 

Breda turns back over to his desk, muttering about not leaving any evidence. Fuery is switching between working on his radio and glancing anxiously at the outer door. Falman has apparently deemed this unimportant and has returned to his work.

 

Havoc walks Ed over to the door and crouches by the lock, “So, ideas for getting in?”

 

Ed studies the lock, “Can’t just use alchemy. It leaves behind a trace, even if you do it near perfectly. Bastard’s sure to notice…”

 

Havoc nods; he hadn’t realized that. Probably not a bad thing to be able to keep an eye out for. “Lock-picking might turn out the same. Especially if we can’t lock it back.” He smiles at a memory, “Back home we used to just climb around through the window.”

 

\--------------

 

Yeah, so, maybe he did let this go a little too far. I mean really, he should not have been surprised that the second he mentioned climbing out the window, Ed was already halfway outside. The kid was a pretty good climber though. Worked his way along the ledge, got through the window, and unlocked the door for Havoc. Using alchemy on the window lock was, according to Ed, not a concern since the Colonel wasn’t likely to check the window. Though Havoc got the feeling Ed was underestimating the Colonel's caution/paranoia.

 

Havoc didn’t really have a plan beyond getting Ed to take a break from running himself raged. Breda was absolutely right that if they did anything that interfered with work, Hawkeye would have their heads. Also Havoc understood how important the Colonel’s work was. He might enjoy goofing off when the chance arose, but he wasn’t about to screw his boss over.

 

Ed, however, did have a plan. Havoc wasn’t sure it was a great one. It amounted to the following:

  1. Lower the Colonel’s chair and use alchemy to remove the adjusting handle
  2. Use alchemy to make the desk about one inch taller
  3. The end



The way Ed practically cackles while carrying out his plan is enough to make Havoc shrug and go along. It doesn’t really matter if he gets it. If the kid is happy, mission accomplished.

 

Having completed this, Ed sends Havoc back into the main room, locks the door, and returns through the window. Something that, again, seems not to bother him in the least.

 

“Had a lot of climbing practice?”

 

Ed hops down into the room, “Used to climb the trees back home to get apples after school. Mr. Whittier always noticed when the kids grabbed ‘em off the bottom branches, but if you took ‘em from the top it was harder to tell.”

 

Havoc drops onto the couch, “Pretty good. We used to sneak into the Haymores’ garden for blueberries. Trick with those is to take the ones on the bottom, makes it look like animals got in and ate some.”

 

Ed flops down next to him and sits quickly for a moment, before his eyes snap open, “Wait, what?”

 

“What, you thought I grew up in the city?” Havoc raises a hand to his chest, “I’m hurt, really.”

 

Breda snorts, “Surprised you couldn’t tell. First thing most people notice.”

 

Havoc shoots Breda a rude gesture, glancing back as the kid mutters, “Guess I just didn’t think about it.”

 

“Don’t sweat it,” he lightly punches Ed’s shoulder. “You hang around these city people enough, you notice it more.”

 

Ed huffs a small laugh, “Guess that’s part of why people react to me and Al the way they do.”

 

And man, this seems to be heading in a sad direction. Havoc glances at the clock. Should still be a few hours before the Colonel gets back. “So, what’s the thing that bugs you the most being in the city?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I mean, there’s a lot that’s weird, but there’s gotta be one thing that just grates on you. My first week here, I couldn’t sleep because it was so quiet. Like, yeah, there’s machinery and stuff, but the air is just silent.” He gives a slightly exaggerated shiver, “Gives off a weird vibe.”

 

Ed nods slowly, and thankfully seems to actually be taking Havoc seriously “Uh… Oh! Nobody freaking knows anyone! Half the places we go, I ask for any information about people and get nothing! They don’t even know who runs the flippin’ hotel! Just point to where it is!”

 

“Ugh, I know! It’s so unhelpful. Like, you’d think they’d know at least  _ somebody _ !”

 

\-----------------

 

By the time the Colonel and Hawkeye get back, the drill has ended, Fuery is gathering his stuff to leave, Falman’s already left, and Havoc is finishing up his last few papers at his desk. Hawkeye raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything as she walks over to her own desk. He knows it’s getting late, but if the Colonel can pull long shifts, so can he.

 

The Colonel also doesn’t speak, but his questioning look as he stands at the desk is clear. Havoc nods, “Just finishing up. Breda’s down at the mess hall, should be back up in a minute.”

 

The Colonel nods as he starts towards his office, “Why’s he down there so late?”

 

When the Colonel looks back, Havoc nods towards the sofa. Ed’s red coat stands out in the fading light, outlining his small, sleeping form. Havoc’s surprised he’s still sleeping this heavily after a few hours. This confirms his earlier concerns that the kid hasn’t been sleeping enough.

 

The Colonel smiles, and Havoc wonders if Ed realizes that the Colonel looks out for him just as much as the rest of the team does. “Well, I’m sure some things piled up while I was out. We don’t need to clear the office just yet.”

 

Havoc nods as the Colonel turns to his office, before freezing. Keeping as straight a face as he can, he says, “Actually, you should probably wake him up for this. Came in to drop off a report. Probably won’t want to come back tomorrow.”

 

Breda walks in with an almost comical amount of food, and waking up Ed is no longer necessary. The kid has wolfed down almost half a plate before following the Colonel into the office, complaining around the food he’s still eating about having to wait around all day.

 

Havoc puts a finger to his lip and motions Breda over to the doorway. Hawkeye glances at them but doesn’t move from her desk.

 

There’s a few moments of silence, followed by Ed, clearly fighting to hold back a laugh, haughtily asking if the Colonel is having trouble seeing over his desk.

 

There’s a loud crash and a lot of shouting, but Havoc’s bent over trying to muffle his laughter. Breda is only slightly more successful. Hawkeye rolls her eyes, walks over, and closes the door. She mutters something about having enough children in this office as she returns to her desk. 

 

Havoc finally gets his breath again. He’ll have to keep a better eye out on the boys. This is the kind of thing a boy Ed’s age should be doing. And besides, Havoc’s missed having a little brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my intent with this chapter was to show all of Mustang's team interacting with Ed, which I mean, kind of happened. But with the way I'm writing these chapters, it really ends up with one focus character, and I will be honest and say Havoc is my favorite of the team. So, it's mostly centered around him. Still, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And of course, with Havoc being somewhat the focus character, I worked in my country-elrics headcanon a little (if y'all want more of that, I have a whole post on my tumblr). 
> 
> Anyways, I know it's been a while, but we're hitting some chapters I'm super excited for, so next update should come sooner. Let me know what y'all thought!


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